AMC Rivercenter 9 has the best seats in town

Close your eyes. (No, not really. Keep reading this.) But go ahead and imagine the features of your ideal movie theater. Mine has lots of concession options, a bar and big, squishy seats that fully recline.

Guess what? That theater now exists in San Antonio.

The AMC Rivercenter 9 in Rivercenter mall has undergone a full transformation. No longer the dumpy downtown cineplex of years past, now each auditorium is filled with plush recliners, there’s a bar in the lobby and everything from classic movie theater popcorn and candy to a chicken tenders-and-fries meal on the concession menu.

“The response has been great,” said Ryan Noonan, director of public relations for AMC. “One of the ways we measure is by attendance, and in all the theaters where we’ve done this, attendance has skyrocketed.”

Rivercenter 9 is the first AMC theater in Texas that has had the renovations. It’s also the only AMC theater left in town, after Huebner Oaks 24 closed in November 2011 (Regal bought it and reopened it in 2012). Noonan says the company always has its eyes open for new theater opportunities, including in San Antonio, but the AMC properties in Houston and Dallas are next in line to be upgraded.

“The bar is great because you can get your beer and enjoy it with your movie, or you can just hang out there and watch a game,” Noonan said. “Kids want to come see ‘Smurfs 2′ and if the parents aren’t into it, they can wait at the bar.”

“We understand there are concerns about having a bar in a place where everyone is welcome,” Noonan said. “We take it seriously. Our bartenders are all properly trained, we serve alcohol in a different type of cup (so as not to be confused for a soft drink) and there’s a limit on the number of drinks we’ll serve each guest.”

Aside from those concerns, the only other challenge with the changes, Noonan said, is explaining the new reserved seating policy.

“When we took out the old seats and put the new ones in, we lost about 50 percent of the capacity,” he said. “Now it’s harder to get a seat. We put the new policy in place so that people can get their tickets early and pick exactly where they want to sit. Once they purchase tickets, they can come five minutes before the show starts and their seats will be waiting.”

Plush recliners are in every auditorium at AMC Rivercenter 9. Stefanie Arias/Express-News

But it will be much harder to walk up to the box office right before show and be able to get a seat for one person, let alone a group who wants to sit together. That sounds like a hassle, I know, but trust me – planning ahead and buying tickets in advance is worth it.

Because once you’re there, you’ll be so comfortable in your recliner that you’ll realize the actual biggest challenge at AMC Rivercenter 9 is to watch your movie without falling asleep.